MOM
by LadyBrannon
Summary: There is a new Minister of Magic M.O.M. . She works hard and plays little. Is there a man out there that can bring out the fun side of the new M.O.M.?
1. MOM Prologue

A/N: Another story that has been insisting that it be done…so, I hope you like it. 

Disclaimer: I am Lady Brannon. I am NOT J.K. Rowling or any other entity that holds rights to Harry Potter. 

Spoilers: All five books…

_This is set approximately 12 years after Harry, Hermione and Ron left Hogwarts.  _

_************************************************_

It was a cold wintry day. The snow was coming down so thick most could not see more than a few feet in front of them. 

Amidst all the chaos, the new Minister of Magic was sworn into office. Well, could you really call them Minister if the person was a woman? No matter, the term was all inclusive, man or woman. 

The Minister of Magic had just finished giving her acceptance speech and sat down during the applause. 

The formal part of the ceremony was over. Now, most would reconvene into the formal ballroom located in the Ministry's newest building. 

The Minister stood up and led the processional into the post festivities. She was wrapped in a dark blue woolen robe. Her hands were covered with matching mittens. Her hat was the same dark blue, but accented with gold. She walked confidently. 

As she entered the ballroom, she handed her robe, mittens and hat to the hired cloak keeper. She shook her long, slightly curled hair out. 

She noticed the cloak clerk gaping at her and gave him a small smile. The young dark haired man responded with a deep blush and murmured his thanks. 

This caused her smile to broaden as she walked further into the room. Her attire was a deep crème dress that buttoned down the front. It was fitted and belted around the waist with a matching belt. The ensemble was set off with the deep, dark blue silk robe that was fitted around her shoulders. 

She walked up to the front of the room and sat down at her assigned seat. The lavishly decorated table easily sat twenty. She was going to be flanked by all the Directors within the Ministry. Soon, all the families were in nearby tables, including the thrilled members of her family. 

When she had first told them of her running for the top position in the Ministry of Magic, most of the family had laughed. There was one exception, and that exception had become her biggest supporter. 

As of yet, she was unmarried. Truth be told, she did not even have a suitor - no time and no desire. There was only one man for her and he had never noticed her. So, she had moved on with her life. And today, she was the Minister of Magic. Not bad, huh?

She gave a grin and a wave to her family as they sat at their assigned table. 

There was a muttered spell and a loud voice began, "Ladies and Gentlemen the new Minister of Magic, Miss…


	2. MOM Chapter 1

_Author's Warning for this chapter: There is mention of a slash (m/m) couple in this chapter. There is no direct contact between the two, but I want everyone to be warned. Don't like it; don't read. I have warned you!- LB_

_********************************************_

"Minister, you have a call on your private floo network!" The Minister's secretary called from the other room. 

Ginny Weasley shook her head. She didn't think she would ever get used to her new secretary, Lori. She was a vivacious, pink haired underground punk rocker. She was a lot of fun, but she had some oddities that were not usually seen in the secretary of the Minister of Magic, or any executive offices for that matter.

Ginny turned her chair around and opened her private floo network. 

"Ginny, dear, how are you today?"

"Fine, Mum. How is everyone at the Burrow?"

"We missed you at the last family dinner. Could you come over tonight? Ron has a surprise!"

"Mum, don't try to use the guilt trip tactic on me. It is not going to work. I had business that had to be done; so, I stayed and did it. As for tonight, I can probably come over for a bit. However, I was here very late last night; I need some sleep. What time would you like me there?" 

Molly gave her a smile and said, "Just after five, can you do that?"

"I can try, Mum. I can try."

"Very well, give your dad a kiss for me."

"Mum, you know I cannot show favoritism."

"He's your father, Ginny. Give him a kiss for me."

"Fine."

Molly signed off with a hearty wave and Ginny closed her private floo. 

She flipped the chair around and began rifling through several stacks of parchments. Ginny gave a sigh and began reading through a proposed law change for magical creatures throughout the United Kingdom. 

After 15 minutes of reading, Ginny sat back in her chair and, using both hands, rubbed the sides of her head. 

She looked up at the magical clock her parents had given her when she had first moved out of the Burrow. It was burgundy and gold, of course, and chanted 'Go Go Gryffindor' on the hour, every hour. Come to think about it, the clock was really quite annoying actually. 

As the thoughts were running through her mind, she actually took a good look at the clock. It clearly stated, 'You're late!'

She looked at the muggle clock and realized it was already three quarters past five. Ginny hastily grabbed her cloak, told her assistant she was gone for the day and went to her fireplace. She picked up a handful of floo powder and headed for the Burrow. 

She arrived, gracefully, on her feet and without a lot of soot on her clothes. She still gave a wave, with her wand, over her clothes with a cleansing spell. It was pretty much habit by now. 

After she had been elected Minister of Magic, she had been required to attend 'politically correct' classes. Rule number one was always look your best. It makes people have more confidence in you. Who knew?

Ginny was pulled out of her thoughts by her mother. 

"Ginny Weasley, that better be you coming out of that fireplace. You do realize that you are over 45 minutes late! We are already eating. You might be the Minister of Magic, but we eat when I say so, young lady! 

Ginny rolled her eyes. She was forever going to be five in her mother's mind. 

"Hi Mum! Yes, it is me. I figured you had already started eating. Sorry, I got caught up in some paper work. I can wait until you are finished; I don't want to interrupt."

"Ginny, get in here and eat. You look like you could use a square meal." Arthur Weasley, Ginny's father, said.

Ginny laughed and headed into the dining room. She greeted her family with a smile. 

There was Bill, her oldest brother, and his wife, Cara. Bill was a curse specialist for Gringotts, the Wizard Bank. He had once worked in Egypt, but now worked in the London offices on Diagon Alley. His wife was his secretary. That was how they met and they still liked working together. They were one of those rare couples that could keep business and pleasure separate.  They had three children: Bill Jr., 11; Jill, 8 and Sally, 2. 

They were a cute family, all redheaded with freckles dusting their pixie-like faces. Bill still had his long hair, much to his mother's chagrin; but Cara seemed to like it. And so it stayed. 

Bill Jr. was at Hogwarts to the pride of the entire family. He was the first Weasley in 200 years to be sorted outside of Gryffindor; he was a proud Ravenclaw, smart as a whip with a quick tongue to match. 

Jill was a prankster like her twin uncles. She was forever getting into trouble and, by proxy, getting her dad in trouble. Bill Weasley was like his father; he loved to have fun even when his wife did not. 

Sally was a walking and talking toddler that kept Molly Weasley amused to no end. Sally was currently on a 'knock-knock' joke phase. Sometimes, it was funny, and sometimes not. You had to take the good with the bad and laugh no matter what; otherwise, you would hurt Sally's feelings. 

Charlie, the Dragon keeper, was there as well. He was with his significant other, James. They were a cute couple that exemplified the fact that opposites attract. Charlie was redheaded and fair. James was raven haired and olive toned. Charlie was outgoing. James was introverted. Charlie liked to work outside and sweat. James had to have every hair on his head in place. Yet, their relationship worked and they both were very happy. 

Charlie still lived in Romania, but Apparated home two or three times a month; his schedule at the Dragon Colony was extremely hectic. James, on the other hand, worked in a castle near the Dragon Colony. He didn't talk about his job usually, but Charlie had mentioned that he worked with a famous vampire. 

Charlie and James were currently trying to adopt two small children, two little girls that had been abandoned after a Fairy Ring Meeting in the Forbidden Forest. They were half human and half fairy, aged four and two and loved Charlie and James immensely. There names were Andrea and Allison, however; they were affectionately called Andie and Allie.

Andie and Allie pushed out of their chairs and ran to Ginny when they saw her. Ginny gave them each a warm hug and a kiss on the cheek. Before they were allowed to do anything else, James reminded them that they needed to finish their dinner and that they could talk to Aunt Ginny after dessert. 

Percy was finally there after years of self imposed exile. During his time away from the family, he had married a muggle girl named Rose. She had accepted the family very easily and really had helped Percy relax. Rose was a cute brunette and fairly short with a page boy haircut. Her eyes were a piercing blue and complimented her fair skin. Rose had small lines around her eyes from her constant smiling. They only made her more endearing. Molly and Arthur had loved her immediately and welcomed her with open arms. 

They had one child, a girl, named Annabel Lee, like the famous Poe poem. Apparently, Rose had become pregnant while she was working on her Master Thesis in Literature History. She had liked the name and the rest is history. 

The twins were there too. Fred was there with his wife, Brennan. She was a witch that was several years younger than Fred. Shoot, she was several years younger than Ginny. She had been a Ravenclaw and was very intelligent. In fact, they had met when Fred and George had hired an accountant to help with the financial side of their incredibly successful joke shops. 

They lived in Southern England on the Isle of Wight. They had a huge home on the beach. Since all the children had left home, Molly loved to visit during the summer. 

Fred and Brennan did not have any children and they did not want any. Brennan joked that she had a child already and that his name was Fred. Fred just nodded. It was true. 

George had, to the shock of everyone, married Hermione. They had run off, just after the war with Voldemort was won, and married in Jamaica. Of course, the reason for the hasty marriage had appeared six months after the wedding; his name was Daniel. Fred had harassed his brother about this for ages. 

Daniel was smart as a whip. At the age of four, he could write in complete sentences and hold serious discussions on Quidditch with names and dates. His Uncle Ron was very proud of him. Daniel was a wonderful combination of George's capricious nature and Hermione's seriousness. He had George's red hair and Hermione's nutmeg eyes. 

Ron was not at the table. 

As Ginny sat down at the table, she asked, "Hey, where is Ron? I thought he had a surprise! I want a surprise! You promised a surprise!" 

Arthur smiled at his only daughter. It was nice to see her smiling and joking. She had been so stressed lately. She always seemed so far away and lonely. 

"He flooed about twenty minutes before you arrived and said they were running late."

"They? Anyone I know?"

"I have no idea. He refused to say anymore. He said to expect them in time for the after dinner discussion. You'll be staying for that, right? Molly inquired. 

"I want to. I really do. But, I need to go back to the office for a few more hours. I have about six more amendments to read through and that is not even considering the fact that I have to approve the curriculum for Hogwarts. I'm sorry, but I only have an hour to spare. Can't we just enjoy the time I am here and let me do what I need to do? Please…"

"Ginny, you cannot expect to work all the time and have a life. You have got to get out and meet people. You need to remember that family is important. You need to remember that friends are important. You need to remember that you work to live, not live to work! I know I instilled better values in you than this workaholic life you are living." 

When Molly paused to take a breath, Arthur jumped in, "Molly, please…she is here. Let us enjoy the time we have and not turn it into shouting match."

However, Ginny was already standing and walking out of the room. 

"Sorry Mum and Dad, it has been a long day and I just can't deal with this right now." Everyone at the table saw the slump in her shoulders and the tears in her voice. 

A few minutes later, Ginny had flooed back to her office and began reading through the stack of papers. She eventually fell asleep, using the parchments for a pillow; she was in the same position when her secretary arrived the next morning.  


	3. MOM Chapter 2

"Ginny," her secretary, Lori, whispered, "Rise and Shine…you have a meeting in fifteen minutes. Come on, beautiful, it is time to wakey wakey…"

"Unhghghgh" Ginny replied. 

"Wakey…wakey…" Lori continued quietly as she began lightly rubbing a tissue over Ginny's nose. 

Ginny mumbled in her sleep, haphazardly rubbed her nose and returned to her slumber.

Lori's body shook from her laughter and the fact she was trying not to laugh out loud. 

She leaned over with the tissue again, and ran it across Ginny's nose again as she said, "Wake up, Ginny. You are going to be late."

Ginny did not even respond. Lori decided it was time to take drastic action. She moved as close as possible to Ginny and placed a fake wand, from Fred and George's store that spewed water, by her wand hand. She backed carefully away. Then, she did the horrible.

Loudly, Lori said, "Ginny, wake up. The Press is coming!"

Ginny jumped up, grabbed her wand and did a cleaning spell on herself and her clothes. Only, she had grabbed the fake wand that her secretary had evilly placed by her hand, so she was drenched by the water shooting out the end of the wand.

"Ahhh! What in the hell?" Ginny screeched. 

Lori would have answered, but she was too busy laughing hysterically. 

Taking the cue from Lori's reaction, Ginny looked at the wand in her hand and groaned. 

"I have been foiled by my secretary and my prankster brothers."

"Yes, you have. Do you KNOW how long I have been waiting to use that on you? Your brothers, Fred, George and Charlie, gave that to me the evening after your inauguration."

"You have had…wait a minute, Charlie? Charlie was in on this?"

Lori just nodded. She did not trust herself to speak; the words would be lost in her laughter. 

"That…that…that traitor! Oh! He is so dead! I am going to…"

"Ummm, Ginny you have a meeting in," she paused to look at her muggle watch, "seven minutes. You need to get your groove on, M.O.M.!"

Ginny rolled her eyes and said, "Would you NOT call me M.O.M, please. It makes me feel twenty years older than I am."

"I only do it because Minister of Magic breaks down to M-O-M… See? M.O.M. It is not a statement about your age or how old you look. Although, now that we are on that topic, you do dress like an old spinster; you look ten years older than you are. No one would guess that I am actually older than you! Geez Ginny, you need a life. You know, something that gives you meaning besides this place"

"Now who sounds like a Mom?" Ginny asked with her eyebrows severely arched. 

"Meeting?"

"Going" 

Ginny reached over for her real wand, did a drying and cleansing spell on her person and walked to her desk. She picked up the report needed for this meeting and walked out of the room. 

Ginny made the short walk to the executive conference room and took her usual chair far away from the door. She placed the bound report in front of herself on the table. She flipped the report open and began re-reading the contents to refresh her memory. 

"Hi Ginny! Feeling better this morning?"

Ginny looked up and saw that Hermione had walked into the room with her own copy of the report and a bright smile. Hermione took the seat next to Ginny and looked at her expectantly. 

"Hi Hermione! Certainly, I chalk it up to lack of sleep." Ginny said, shrugging her shoulders. 

"Hmmm- and here I thought it was because your mother tends to be overbearing while insisting on interfering in your life. Of course, that was just me. Now I'm not saying I don't love Molly Weasley, because I do; but I am saying that she tends to be a bit much at times. Are you sure you are okay?"

"Hermione, this is nothing new. I have been through this with my mother a million and one times. I simply believe that it is a generation gap issue, nothing more. She does not get how I could want to have something other than a husband and kids. What she does not get is that for so long I wanted the same thing; however, I know that will never happen. I loved. He did not love me. Shoot, whom am I kidding? I never even bleeped on his radar of possibilities. Thus, I rely on my job to feed my nurturing needs."

"Ginny…" Hermione began, but was cut off by the wave of Ginny's hand. 

"No, this is neither the time nor the place." 

Hermione began to speak again, but stopped when a few other people walked into the room. 

The meeting began five minutes later.

"Not bad," thought Ginny, "this started only a few minutes late. Wonder if I should hope for getting out early?"

In the end, Ginny sat there for the entire allotted time plus ten minutes. She walked back to her office lost in her thoughts about the meeting. It seemed to have been fairly productive.

As she passed Lori's desk, she realized that her secretary was not there. 

"She must be at lunch." Ginny thought. 

Ginny realized that she was wrong when she walked into her office. There sat Lori, parchment in hand, ready to jot down Ginny's comments about the meeting. 

"Amazing…sometimes, you are really amazing." Ginny said to her secretary.

Lori shrugged and said, "I know."

"Modest too…" Ginny teased.

"I know."

Ginny snorted and thought, "What would she do without this crazy secretary of hers?"

Ginny sat down in her comfy work chair, spread out her notes all over her formal mahogany desk and began going through them.

Soon, Ginny and Lori were lost in all of the notes and ideas from the meeting.

A few hours and several decisions later, Ginny thought she and Lori had accomplished quite a bit. They had come up with what they thought to be a good compromise between the groups and made it beneficial for everyone. 

Lori gave Ginny a 'thumbs up' and said, "Good Days work, boss. Why don't you head home and finish that nap you were taking earlier?"

"Hardy-har-har! How can I sleep when I have three more of these reports to read, prepare for the looming meetings and start on my own ideas for everyone because I am the Minister of Compromise?"

"MOC?"

"You are just the regular punster, aren't you?"

"Me?"

"You win. I am out of here. I'll see you tomorrow. Don't call me either. I will not answer. I need some sleep."

"Uh-huh"

"I'm serious."

"I said 'uh-huh.'"

"Why do I put up with you?"

"Because I am the best secretary you have ever had. I can read your mind, anticipate your needs and leap tall buildings in a single bound."

"Lori, you need to stop immersing yourself in all things muggle. I think you are losing you brain…"

"Jealous…just jealous…" Lori sang in the most annoying sing song voice ever. 

Ginny rolled her eyes, gathered her belongings and headed to the fireplace. She grabbed the necessary floo powder, got in the fireplace, gave Lori a wave 'goodbye,' and called out, "Ginny's home."

She bounded into her living room. She did not fall, but it was close. She grabbed hold of the mantle and steadied herself. 

"Thank goodness I never did that at a formal function. That would be all over the news for weeks." Ginny thought, giggling to herself. 

She put her 'Minister' robe, purse and brief case in her entry closet. She kicked off her low heeled pumps, wiggled her feet and took great pleasure walking through her luxurious carpet. 

Next, she pulled her dressy silk shirt from the waistband of her linen dress trousers and flopped down on her sofa with her left arm splayed dramatically over her eyes. 

She was drifting off to sleep when a head appeared in her fireplace. 

"Ginny, are you there?"

"Mmmmmm…" Ginny responded.

"Ginny, I am serious. Wake up. I need to ask you something." 

Ginny pulled herself to her knees on the sofa and looked at the fireplace. There was a very concerned looking Hermione Weasley. 

"Hermione, I do not want to continue our decision from this morning. I was almost asleep and I need some sleep!" Ginny emphatically said. 

"No…no…this has nothing to do with this morning's conversation. Well, okay maybe something to do with it, but…"

"Hermione, I said no. I am not going there again. This is my first night home before 10pm in almost 2 weeks. I want to relax. That topic is not relaxing."

"Fine. Ginny have you seen your brother?"

"Which one?"

Hermione sighed loudly and said, "Ron, the one you did not see last night."

"No. Hey, what was his surprise? Whom was it? His new girlfriend? Let me guess, he finally told Lavender after all these years that he thinks she is better than sliced bread." Ginny said, while laughing at her own joke and smacking the back of the chair in slapstick fashion. 

"Ginny, this is serious."

Ginny gave Hermione a long appraising look. 

"No, it can't be."

"It is."

"You must be mistaken," Ginny said firmly.

"I saw him with my own two eyes. It was him."

"I can't deal with this right now."

"So you have said, thus, my friendly call to let you know. I think Ron plans to head over to your flat with him after dinner at the Burrow."

"No…" Ginny whispered and her face paled.

"Yes. George and I thought, with this new information, you might like to come over for dinner. We have both seen Ron and him. They have no reason to come over to our house."

"Oh Hermione, what would I do without you! You are the best friend ever! I'll be right over!"

Hermione nodded and ended the floo call.

Ginny ran to her bedroom and threw off her shirt and pants. She grabbed a casual cotton dress and slipped on a pair of house slippers. She walked into the bathroom, opened her drawer with all her hair accessories and grabbed a simple ponytail holder. She pulled her hair back and kept it back with the band.

She gave herself a small smile and walked out. She rushed to the fireplace and headed to George and Hermione's home. 

"Hi Guys!" Ginny called to her sister-in-law, brother and her nephew. 

Daniel jumped out of his chair at the table, ran to his aunt and threw his small chubby arms around her. Ginny leaned over, picked him up and covered his face in kisses. Daniel giggled loudly.  

George smiled at his sister's antics with his son. It was nice to see Ginny relaxed and smiling. She had not been so carefree since before the war. 

Hermione looked between brother and sister and smiled. They had all suffered through the war. It was still hard to think about. The Weasley's had been lucky. They had not lost any parents or children, but they had lost many good friends, including Professor McGonagall, Remus Lupin and Sirius Black. 

Hermione winced when thinking of the last two. The loss of those two had caused many of Ginny's problems. 

"Hello…Hermione, where were you? I've been trying to get your attention for several minutes."

"Sorry, thinking about some things I have to do tomorrow at work."

Ginny laughed and said, "And you all think I am a workaholic!"

Hermione gave her a mocking smile and said, "Let's eat!"

"Can I help?" Ginny inquired wanting to do something besides reading reports and sitting in meetings.

"Yes, you can help me carry the bowls to the table."  
  


"Aye-aye, Captain!" Ginny said while mock saluting. 

Hermione shook her head and pointed to the kitchen. 

Ginny helped Hermione bring the food to the table. They had a nice, lively dinner conversation that had many topics. 

Soon, after a scrumptious dessert, they were pushing back from the table and heading to the family room. Daniel asked Ginny to read him a story. She said yes and they headed upstairs to his room. 

After she had put him to bed for the evening, she came back downstairs. George and Hermione were cuddling on the sofa. From their vantage point, they could not see Ginny. Ginny watched them for a few minutes. She thought about how cute they looked, how good they were together. But most importantly, she thought about how she would never have this.

She lightly cleared her throat and entered the room. Hermione and George jumped apart. 

"We –umm- were just- umm…"

"You were doing what happy couples everywhere do. It is refreshing to see." Ginny said with a smile.

"Ginny, do you want to play some chess?" George asked.

"Nope, I want you to spend some time with your lovely wife. I am going home to sleep!" Ginny said as she walked over to the fireplace.

"Ginny, you don't have to leave." Hermione said. 

"I know. I really want to go to sleep. I'll see you tomorrow at the office. Bye guys! Thanks for dinner; it was great!"

She traveled through the floo network to her flat. She was still smiling as she walked into her living room. 

The smile quickly faded when she saw who was sitting there.

"Hello Ginny, it has been a long time."


	4. MOM Chapter 3

Ginny's jaw dropped. She was staring into the luminous green eyes of Harry Potter. 

_Harry Potter had left three days after he defeated Voldemort. After the vicious fight with Voldemort, it took three days for him to heal with magic. He had a severe concussion, over 50 broken bones, and contusions and abrasions over 40 percent of his body. _

_Ginny had stayed by his side the entire time. She lived with the hope that he had never shown her any interest because of Voldemort; that he didn't want to put her in danger. She had been very wrong. _

_He had woken on the fourth day. He looked around and saw Ginny sitting by his side. _

_"Hey" he said. _

_"Hi! How are you feeling?" Ginny asked in a quiet voice. _

_"Like I was hit by a Mack truck!" he said in a dry raspy voice. _

_"Huh?"_

_"Sorry, that's a muggle saying." Harry said with a sheepish smile. _

_"Okay. Can I get you anything?"_

_"No. Where is everyone?"_

_"Most are sleeping. It is about __three o'clock__ in the morning."_

_"Ahh. Is everyone okay?"_

_"Let me go get Madame Pomfrey. I need to tell her that you are awake."_

_"Ginny, is everyone okay?"_

_Ginny got up and went to get Madame Pomfrey. She returned a few minutes later with the school's healer. _

_"Mr. Potter, this is so reminiscent of your school days. How are you feeling?"_

_"Sore all over."_

_Madame Pomfrey arched her eyebrow and said, "I would imagine so."_

_"Can I have some water?"_

_"Certainly. Miss Weasley would you get Mr. Potter some water?"_

_"Of course."_

_When Ginny returned with the glass of water, Madame Pomfrey was gone. Ginny silently handed Harry the water and he eagerly took it. He took several drinks and handed it back to her. She laid it to the side and watched him. His eyes were closed. Ginny assumed he was going back to sleep until he began speaking to her. _

_"Why are you here, Ginny?"_

_"Because I needed to make sure that you were all right."_

_"Why?" Harry asked. _

_"You know why, Harry."_

_"When is this going to stop, Ginny?" Harry said with exasperation dripping off every word. _

_"I don't have a choice in this Harry. I love you. You know this. Now that Voldemort is gone, we can be together. You don't have to worry about me anymore. We can finally be together."_

_Harry gave a long searching look at Ginny, but said nothing._

_"Harry, you can live a normal life just as you have always wanted. We can be together now."_

_Harry pushed himself up into a sitting position and looked Ginny directly in the eye. The look he gave her was very serious._

_"Ginny, I don't love you. I was not waiting for Voldemort to die. I…don't…love…you. This has got to stop. We are not meant to be together. There is never going to be an 'us'…never. Do you understand? I feel nothing for you…I don't really even know you. You are merely Ron's sister to me."_

_Ginny's eyes filled with tears._

_"You don't mean that, Harry. I know you don't."_

_"Yes, Ginny, I do. I want you to leave."_

_"No…" Ginny cried. _

_"Yes, please leave."_

_Ginny jumped out of her chair and ran out the door, sobbing hysterically. That was the last time that Ginny had seen Harry Potter. _

_By that evening, he had packed his few belongings and disappeared. Ron got an owl from him about three months later saying he was fine and that he would keep in touch. He also asked that no one try to find him. He was happy, now. He was normal, now._

_Ginny had cried for three days, in her room, after the parchment had arrived. She did not eat, shower or even get out of bed. _

_On the fourth day, she got up, cleaned up and came downstairs. When she greeted her family at the breakfast table, she was a different person. She was focused, confident and self-assured. _

_She sat down at the table and seriously told them that she was going to become the Minister of Magic. Everyone at the table had burst out in laughter, all except Bill. _

_He had looked at Ginny and said, "You can do it, Ginny-Boo!"_

_Ginny gave Bill and a warm smile and said, "Yes, I can."_

_And, she had.  _

Now Ginny, Minister of Magic, was standing in her flat staring into the eyes of Harry 'freaking' Potter. 

"Ginny, are you all right?"

"I'm fine. How did you get in my home?"

"Your floo was open. I didn't think you would mind. Ron said it would be okay."

"Well, it's not okay. I am tired and I would like to go to bed. I am sure you can find the door or the floo." Ginny said as she moved to walk past him. 

Before she could get past him, Harry stood up and grabbed her arm.   
  


"Ginny…"

She tugged her arm free from his grasp and glared at him. 

"Ginny, why are you being this way?"

"Being this way? Harry Potter, the last time I saw you, you told me that you didn't even know me. Why would you feel the need to come see me? Why are you here? Why would I even register on your list? Guilt? Pity? Well rest assured Mr. Potter, I am not wallowing in self pity. You can take your inherent Gryffindor honor and you out of my flat." Ginny finished speaking and walked out of the room. 

Harry followed her into her bedroom. 

"What part of 'go away' did you not get?" She asked in a very sarcastic voice. 

"Ginny, I just want to talk."

"No."

"Ginny…"

"I said no. Now please leave."

"Fine, but I will be back. I want to talk to you."

"I'll be busy over the next while. I'm not sure when I'll be available. Besides, I'm sure you want to visit with Hermione, Ron, Mom and Dad. Don't worry, you won't hurt my feelings. Well, go on." Ginny made a shooing motion with her hands. 

"Ginny, I thought you loved me. Love is forever. I'm back. I want your love."

"Oh my God, you have to be kidding. Harry, have you lost your mind? You want my love? Harry, I don't want someone who wants me for my love; I want someone that will want me for ME! I deserve that. Besides, why would you think that I still have feelings for you?"

"Ron seems to think you do."

"Ron also thinks you walk on water, and we both know you can't." Ginny said in a matter of fact tone.

"Ouch."

"Well, I didn't say it to be nice." she informed him. 

"Ginny, I was wrong. I was wrong four years ago. I gave up something good. I want to try and make it work."

"Harry, you weren't wrong; you were honest. I respect that. I can handle that. I have moved on. You have moved on. It is done, finished, complete…you get the idea. I have no hard feelings. Now, as I said ten minutes ago, I am tired and I want to go to bed. Please leave."

"Fine, I'll go, but I will be back tomorrow and the day after that. You were right, Ginny, and I plan to prove it to you."

He pulled her into his arms and gave her a soft kiss on the lips. He cupped her face and said, "I'll be here tomorrow, Ginny. And it will be because I want to."

Then, he turned and walked out of her bedroom. She heard him enter the fireplace and state his destination as Ron's flat. She heard the roar of floo flames and knew he was gone.

It was a several minutes after he left that she realized she was touching her hand to her lips with a dreamy expression on her face. She quickly shook it off and began getting ready for bed. 

She removed her dress and put on an old T-shirt of Ron's. It was the most comfortable thing she owned. She went into the bathroom and continued her nightly ritual. She washed her face, applied some face cream and retrieved her sleep mask. She walked back into the bedroom, turned back the covers to her bed and slid in. 

"It is nice to be going to bed early for once." she thought to herself. 

Thirty minutes later, she was damning Harry 'I'm back; take me' Potter as her thoughts ran rampant, "Why was he the bane of her existence? Why did he have to return now? Why now? But the bigger question is…why I am still in love with Harry 'I have the greenest, sexiest eyes' Potter?"

Three hours later, Ginny found herself getting dressed. She had decided that if she was not going to sleep; she might as well go back to work. 

The next day dawned bright and early. It also mirrored the morning before; Ginny was asleep with her head on the table. She was drooling on important documents about Magical Theory from the Magical Institute of Learning. 

However, there was one major difference; she was roused from her slumber by a very angry Molly Weasley. 

"Ginny Weasley, what exactly did you say to Harry? He and Ron showed up at the Burrow this morning at sunrise! Sunrise! I figured they wanted food, but instead I get a story about how you told Harry that he no longer 'walked on water.' The boy comes home and tells you that he is in love with you and you tell him to go away! Where did I go wrong with you?" Molly Weasley screeched for the entire floor to hear; her arms flailing wildly.

"First off, Mother, this is not the appropriate place to discuss this. This is my place of business. Next, I told him the truth, nothing more and nothing less. I also want to make sure that you understand that Harry did not tell me that he loved me. What he told me was that he made a mistake not accepting my love four years ago. For your information, I don't want him to accept my love. I want to be loved by someone for who I am. I would think that my mother would want at least that much for me too. Now, it is time for me to get to work. There is the door, Mom. Have a nice day."

Ginny turned her attention to the papers she had been working on before she fell asleep. 

Her mother made some noises, but never said anything else. A minute later, Molly turned and walked out of her office. 

Interestingly enough, word of her mother's visit had already traveled to her father's floor because her dad was in the hall giving her mother a very stern talking to. 

Ginny decided enough was enough. She walked into the hall and said, "Mom…Dad…this is neither your concern, nor the time or place. Now, I think we all have things to do today. Dad, can I speak with you about the report you filed last Friday afternoon?"

"Sure, Ginny." he replied. 

Ginny gave her mother a last wave and reentered her office. Her father followed her in a few minutes later. Before he could bring up the subject of Molly or Harry, she started going through the report. 

After the morning's events, the rest of the work day was a breeze.


	5. MOM Chapter 4

"Ginny, may I use your fireplace? I have a date tonight." Lori asked after walking into the room with her heavy robe and hat. 

"Sure, where are you going?" Ginny replied as she looked up from the never ending stack of papers.

"Ehhh- just the Leaky Cauldron, but the guy is H.O.T…hot!" Lori said while fanning herself comically.

"Tell me." Ginny said while raising her eyebrows suggestively.

"He is blonde, tall, and a hunk!" Lori said; then licked her lips.

"Hmmm, sounds like a guy I knew in school. He was a year ahead of me and the biggest git in the world. Malfoy…his name was Malfoy. Of course at one point in time, despite having a long time crush on someone else, even I could admit the man was a hunk. Although, I would never, ever admit to it. So you ever think of bringing this up again, and I'll deny it" Ginny said with a look of pure intent on her face. 

"Hey, the guy I am meeting is a Malfoy- Draco Malfoy."

"Heaven help you; that's the git." Ginny said with a frown.

"He was nice to me…a real gentleman." Lori said seriously.

"Well, maybe he grew up. I hope for your sake that is the case." Ginny said. 

"Me too…" Lori responded as she walked over to the fireplace. She threw in some floo powder and was off with a wave. 

Ginny shook her head and turned back to the parchment at hand. 

A few hours later, she was packing up the latest reports from the Ministry's Defense Director. He had given her three reports since Monday, which meant that now she had to work most of the evening to be up to date for the meeting tomorrow. 

Ginny sighed as she shrunk the three reports and put them in her pant's pocket. She walked over to the fireplace and floo'd home. 

She walked out of the fireplace in her living room and lightly dusted off her clothes. She tossed her hat onto the hook by her fireplace and it toddled on the hook for a few seconds before coming to rest. 

She put her arms straight in the air and said, "Score!"

"That was a good shot!" a male voice said from behind her. 

Ginny whirled around with her wand drawn. 

"Holy Hell, you scared me to death!" she yelled at a smug looking Harry "butter melts in my mouth" Potter. "How did you get in this time? I know I locked the floo."

"Your mom gave me her extra key." he said with a smirk. 

"She did what?" Ginny said very quietly. 

"She gave me her extra key. She told me to surprise you."

"Get out."

"I made us dinner. Come have a look." 

"Harry, get out…now!" She said with venom. 

"I made lasagna with a mix of mushrooms, four cheeses and fresh herbs."

"Lasagna…"

"Your favorite, right?" Harry said in a knowing voice.

"Well, I guess since you broke into my house; the least you can do is bring me dinner." 

"I knew you would see it my way." Harry said. 

"The door is over there." Ginny said pointing to the door. "Oh and Harry, leave my mom's key on the coffee table. I would hate to have to report you to one of my auror's."

Harry "But I baked it for your love" Potter's jaw dropped. 

"Ginny…But…I…ummm…made you dinner! And what auror are you talking about?" He stuttered out; his voice rising. 

"I have two aurors stationed on this floor at all times. It is their job not to be seen, but I assure you; I scream and they will come. So again, there is the door, Harry. Don't let it hit you on the arse on the way out." Ginny gave him a flirty wave and walked out of the room. 

In the kitchen, Ginny found that the lasagna was being kept warm under a warming spell. So, she decided to change out of her work clothes and get more comfortable. 

She walked out of the kitchen and stopped off in the living room. She checked the coffee table and saw that Harry had, thank goodness, left the extra set of keys. She removed the shrunken papers in her pocket, spelled them back to normal size and placed them beside the keys. 

She went into the bedroom, pulled her shirt out from her pants and began unbuttoning it. Once it was off, she tossed it into her hamper. She unzipped her pants and pulled them off. 

She walked over to her armoire, pulled out the bottom drawer and found her strapless, turquoise nightgown. It was her favorite and had been a gift from Hermione from the previous Christmas. She slipped it over her head and down her body. 

She walked back to the kitchen. She opened the white cupboard and pulled out a large crème plate with grape designs all over the lip. She sat the plate down on the cabinet beside the stove. She got a large serving spoon, dished out a huge portion of lasagna and plopped it onto the plate. She grabbed a fork, a glass of pumpkin juice and walked back into her living room.

Ginny sat down on the sofa with her legs under her. She propped the plate on the sofa arm and began slowly eating while going through the papers she had brought home from work.

After eating and reading parchment after parchment, Ginny put her dish in the sink and muttered the cleaning charm. She put the left over lasagna, and there was lots of it, in the refrigerator. With the lights off, she headed to her bedroom. 

Once her bedroom rituals were complete, she got into bed. Again, she bombarded herself with thoughts of Harry "Bleeping" Potter. Luckily, her mind was nicer this evening than the prior. Tonight, she slept. 

Ginny woke up at the first signs of daylight peeking through her white lace curtains. She quickly pulled herself out of bed; any dawdling only made her sleepier. 

Her morning ritual was as efficient as her evening one. She walked into the bathroom and started the shower. She retrieved her towel and wash cloth. She new many of the older witches and wizards used only cleaning charms, but she had never liked them. No, she liked the relaxation that could only come from warm water bearing down on your body. 

She stepped into the shower and enjoyed the luxury. Once completed, she stepped out and dried herself off with the Egyptian cotton towel that she had bought at a muggle department store in London. 

Before putting on her knickers, she sprayed her body lightly with her current choice of perfume. It was light and clean smelling. She had never cared for those flowery smelling types. They tended to be too potent and gave her horrible headaches. 

Ginny proceeded by putting on her bra. She walked out to her vanity and began drying her hair. She bent at the waist and let her hair fall over. She began drying her hair; she did it to give her extra volume. Some days it worked better than others. That was how it went when you had slightly curly hair. It could never make up its mind on whether it was curly or not, whether it was going to curl under or out. So, you had to tame it and that took time. 

With her hair dry, she entered the walk-in closet and located her attire for the day. Today, she was going to wear a pleated, navy skirt contrasted by a white, crisp oxford. She pulled them on and walked back to her vanity. She applied her makeup, set her hair and put on her shoes. 

Ginny walked into the living room. She collected her papers, her robe and her hat. She put the robe and hat on, put the papers under her robe and floo'd through the fireplace. 

She did not go to her office. She went to the Burrow. She needed to have a word with her mother. She arrived as her father was walking out of the kitchen. He was obviously getting ready to floo to work because he had several papers in his hand and his hat on his head. 

He stopped when he saw Ginny.

"Hi dear, what are you doing here?"

"I need to speak with Mother. Apparently, she thought it a good idea to give Harry a key to my apartment."

"She did what?" Arthur Weasley asked in a loud, shocked tone of voice. 

"What is all the yelling about?" Molly Weasley asked as she came into the room. 

"Dad and I were just having a discussion."

"Ginny, I didn't see you there. What are you doing here this morning?" Molly asked with just a touch of fake innocence to her voice and demeanor. 

"You know very well why I am here, Mother. But before we get too far into this discussion, I need to ask a question. Is Harry here?"

"No, he is at Ron's flat." Arthur answered. 

"Good," Ginny responded, "I want to have this discussion in front of neither Harry nor Ron."

"Discussion about what, dear?" Molly asked, again in that feigned innocence. 

"Again, you KNOW why I am here. What possessed you to give Harry a key to MY flat?" Ginny asked in a very annoyed voice. 

"I did it for you. You are being stubborn. The boy loves you." Molly said. 

"How can you…Mother, how in the world can you say you did it for me? I thought I made it very clear that Harry is not for me. He loves the idea of my love, not me. I don't want that, I don't need that. I don't deserve that!" Ginny said; her voice becoming louder as she kept speaking. 

"Ginny, he loves you. I know he does."

"Did he tell you this?" Ginny asked diplomatically.

"Ummm…no, but I could see it in his eyes. You know that his eyes have always been so expressive. I know!"

"If he did not tell you, then you only think you know. That is NOT the same thing. I am asking you to stop this. Please, if not because I am your daughter, then because if you don't let it go; I may go crazy. I am still in love with Harry, but it will never be. I have to move on. This is not letting me move on. I want a family. I want to find love with someone who can love me. Can you understand that?" Ginny asked; she had tears running down her face at the end of her diatribe. 

"Oh baby," Molly Weasley exclaimed as she drew Ginny to her breast, "I am so sorry. I had no idea this was a bad thing. I swear. I was only trying to help you get what you wanted; I thought that was Harry. I am so sorry." 

Soon, Molly and Ginny both were sobbing and hugging each other. 

Arthur Weasley stood to the side and smiled. This was the closest mother and daughter had been in years. 


	6. MOM Chapter 5

Ginny arrived at her office early the next morning. After the emotional evening with her family, she had spent a restless evening contemplating her life and where it was going. 

The thoughts had kept her tossing and turning all night. Harry "could you quit running through my head" Potter was not leaving her thoughts. Yes, she was in love with him. No, she would never have him. Never… So, where did this leave her? Alone? Settling? Would it be fair to another man to be with him and love Harry?

'And it seemed,' Ginny thought to herself, 'that those thoughts were persisting.'

Ginny sat down at her desk and flipped through her leather bound scheduler. Today she was having a meeting with the new aurors. That should keep her mind occupied, all those young, good looking blokes just out of training camp. Yum! 

Ginny laughed at herself. Those were very naughty thoughts for an elected official. 

She got up form her desk, opened the door to her office and went out in search of caffeine sustenance. She saw that the stand near her secretary's desk was holding a fresh brewed pot of coffee. 

'Odd,' Ginny thought, 'Lori usually brings the coffee if she is here.'

Ginny shrugged off the thought and went to pour herself a cup of coffee. As she poured the coffee into her favorite mug, she heard someone come up behind her. She turned in a defensive manner and was ready to use the hot coffee as a weapon if need be. 

"Whoa! You can set the scalding coffee aside; I was looking for Lori" a blonde Adonis said. 

"Oh dear me! Is that you, Draco?" Ginny asked with a touch of humor in her voice.

"Yes. Yes, it is." he assured her. 

"So, I heard you were back in town. Lori told me she was meeting you last night for a date." 

"Hmmm…Yes, I am back in town. Yes, I did have dinner with Lori last night. It was not a date. I also will admit that I "hooked up" with Lori to get the goods on you."

"Me?" Ginny asked with her eyebrows shooting past her bang line.

"You…" he assured her. 

"Why would you want to do that?"

"Because I have heard great things about you, you are an amazing woman, Ginny Weasley. You are beautiful, smart, ambitious, sexy…" his voice tapered off as he stepped closer to her and invaded her personal space. He brought a hand to her cheek and gave it a soft caress. 

Ginny's eyes were large and round as she saw his face coming closer. Before she knew what had happened, she was pulled soundly into a passionate kiss by her former enemy. Draco's lips on hers were soft, yet firm. He gently prodded her lower lip to open and she complied. Ginny felt like she was drowning. No one had every kissed her like this. Of course, her experience was a bit on the slim side. Oh all right, she had only kissed one other man…Colin. And he had been as inexperienced as she. 

Ginny was pulled from those thoughts by the feel of a tongue gently nudging hers. Ginny's eyes flew open to find Draco looking at her. He pulled back slightly, gave her a chaste kiss and his trademark smirk. 

He then leaned over and whispered, "I want you, Ginny Weasley."

She was unable to respond in anyway because Draco was roughly pulled away from her. 

"What the hell are you doing, Malfoy?" Harry "bad timing" Potter asked with malice in his voice. 

"Just having an intimate chat with Miss Weasley, Potter, nothing for you to worry about." Draco assured him while bestowing Ginny with a wink. 

The wink was why Draco or Ginny never saw it coming…Harry's fist - and it hit Draco's nose dead on. Blood spurted everywhere and Ginny gasped in shock. 

"What the hell are you doing, Harry?" Ginny screamed as she flew to Draco's side and helped him get to the closest chair.

"Protecting you from this slime." 

Ginny snorted loudly as she gave Draco a napkin to place on his nose. She walked over to the internal communication network at the Ministry of Magic Building and requested a medi-witch to her office. She then turned to Harry and began to let him have it.

"How dare you! What gives you the right to hit anyone, Harry Potter? You had no right, none at all. Leave."

"Ginny, I was just protecting you. He was about to take advantage of you. I did it for you." Harry finished in a quiet voice.

"I never asked you to protect me, Harry Potter. Do you really think I cannot take care of myself? If not, you are lucky I am alive…being without you for all these years." she said with a glare directed on Harry "I'll save the damsel in distress" Potter. 

"Ginny, I am here now. Please…"

"Harry, just leave." 

Harry turned to the door with his shoulder slumped and walked to the door. Ginny caught herself just as she was about to go to him. 

Unfortunately, Harry got to the door just as the medi-witch did. She threw open the heavy wooden door in her haste to treat the injured party and Harry was caught square in the nose. He fell to the ground in a heap; his nose pouring blood. 

"Oh Merlin!" the medi-witch exclaimed in horror. She dropped to her knees by Harry and began waving her wand to check for any other injuries besides the obvious. She pulled up the hair on his forehead and gasped. 

"You are Harry Potter!" 

"Yes, I am." Harry agreed in a quiet, embarrassed tone. 

"I am so sorry!" she said as she flicked the wand over his nose and fixed the injury. 

"No problem. Thanks for fixing it!" Harry retorted as he stood up and walked out the door. 

Ginny watched him go with a touch of sadness…she wanted it to be true, but she knew it wasn't. He wanted love, not her. 

Ginny was pulled from her musings by the medi-witch's exclamation upon seeing Draco.

"Good Gracious! Another broken nose? Minister, were you having personal protection training today?" the medi-witch asked with humor in her voice.

"No, no, nothing like that. We simply had a misunderstanding. Isn't that right, Mr. Malfoy?" Ginny asked the wounded blonde. 

He shook his head in agreement and waited for the medi-witch to perform her magic. She waved her wand and Draco's nose was fixed. He thanked the medi-witch, stood up, gave Ginny a smile and headed for the door. 

"Not so fast, Mr. Malfoy. You and I need to talk." Ginny said in her, "I'm the Minister of Magic" voice. 

Draco turned around and glanced at Ginny. She was standing with her hands on her hips and her left foot tapping. She turned to the medi-witch, gave her a dismissing smile and beckoned Draco into her office. Ginny went into her office, expecting Draco to follow. He did. 

Ginny let Draco brush past her and then closed the door. 

"Have a seat." she told him. 

He sat and waited. Ginny walked around and sat at her desk. She strummed her fingers against each other for a few seconds. 

"Want to tell me what that was all about?" she inquired of the man before her.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Don't play stupid. Not only is not becoming, but it insults your intelligence and mine. Now, what was that all about?" she said with a very serious look on her face. 

"You mean the kiss?" 

"You are pissing me off."

"Okay, okay," Draco said while putting up his hands in a surrendering manner, "I came here to meet with you, nothing more and nothing less. I was attracted to you at Hogwarts. I thought that I could come by and see if there was anything still there." 

"You came by and kissed me just to see if YOU still had the hots for me? Ginny asked with an incensed tone.

"Yes and there is."

"Well, whoopty-do! I am so glad you still feel something. Did you ever think to ask me if I had an interest? What is it with the male species? Do you think women are meant to swoon at your feet just because you want us to? Sheesh! You and Harry 'can kiss my ass' Potter are so much alike it scares me. Now, get out. I have work to do"

Draco grappled for words, "Me…Harry? We are NOT alike. I am nothing like that fame seeking prat!" 

"Oh please…tell it to that muggle woman, Oprah. I hear she likes to talk to people in denial." Ginny sarcastically remarked as she pointed to the door.

Draco looked at Ginny in surprise. He never knew she could be anything but sweet and caring. 

He gave her another long look, but she gave a fervent point to the door. He took the hint; she did have red hair after all, and left. 

Twenty minutes later, Lori came bounding into her office practically skipping.

"Guess what I found out?" Lori crooned out in a sing-song voice. 

"Hmmm…let me think…Draco Malfoy wanted to meet you to learn more about me because he was secretly in love with me in school and wanted to see if he still has feelings for me." Ginny dead panned.

Lori's mouth dropped open in surprise, "How in the hell did you know that!?"

"Divination" Ginny snorted.


	7. MOM Chapter 6

Lori was laughing hysterically as Ginny recounted the morning events between Draco, Harry and her. 

"Merlin, Ginny, I think I hate you! All I want is one good man…you know, good looking, smart, rich, the basics and you have two! You are going to be the envy of every witch in England!"

"Puh-lease! Harry wants me because he wants love. Draco wants me because I am unobtainable and now, he is going to want me even more because Harry wants me. Ugh! I just want a man who wants me for myself. Is that too much to ask?"

Lori stopped laughing and set up straight in her chair across from Ginny. "Ginny, I think both of those guys DO love you for you. I think Harry loves you and I think Draco loves you."

"Are you serious?"

"100 percent," Lori assured her, "I think Harry loves you the only way he knows how. His muggle relatives were the bane of his existence for so many years. The only love he really knew was through his friendship with your family and Hermione. As for Draco, if the gossip is true, his early life was not any better than Harry's. Only his mother and father treated him that badly. These guys are both damaged goods…and I mean that in the nicest way possible. They need you and your love to make them whole. From that love, you will get their love. A true love that most on this planet would kill for, Ginny"

Ginny gave Lori a long thoughtful look and pondered what she had said. She knew Harry's muggle relatives were horrible to him and she had heard the gossip about Draco, as well.  Could it be true? Could she be looking for too much? Was she being selfish? Did they need her? Which one was the right one?

Ginny sighed lightly and was finally pulled from her thoughts; she saw that Lori had left the room and that her father was standing in the doorway looking at her oddly.

"Hi Ginny!" he said with humor in his voice.

'Heard what happened, huh?" she asked with a smile.

"Yes…are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Although, I think I may have been looking at a few things from the wrong point of view. Want to sit down and talk for a few minutes?"

"I thought you would never ask" Arthur said as he shut the door and took a seat in her leather love seat next to the wall. Once settled, he beckoned Ginny to join him. 

Ginny got up and settled next to her father like she used to do as a small child.

"You know," Ginny began, "I really thought I had finally figured out who I was and where I was going."

"I have thought that a few times myself. I was wrong every time." Arthur chuckled out. 

Ginny gave him a small smile. "What do you think about all this?"

"Well, I think that you are my little girl, no matter your age or title. I love you. I raised you to use your brain. Thus, I know that you will make the right decision."

"Nothing more…conclusive?" Ginny asked.

"My dear, I must draw the line here. A father NEVER wants to know about his daughter's love life!" 

Ginny giggled and said, "Some love life…Harry and Draco touched each other more than they touched me!"

"And on that note, I hear my paperwork calling!" Arthur said as he stood up and brought Ginny with him. He gave her a small kiss on the forehead and headed for the door. 

"I love you, Dad."

"I love you too, Ginny." With that said, he walked out of the room and quietly shut the door behind him. 

Ginny's afternoon was filled with Auror meetings. As Minister of Magic, she was required to do the last interview of every new graduate and finalize their hiring. It was a long and tedious process, especially since she had so much on her mind. 

Several long hours later, she was finished. She had accepted all but one. And that one, well, it was better just to say no and let it go. 

She stood up and stretched. She wanted to go home, take a nice hot bath, and go to bed. She grabbed her cloak, went to her private fireplace and flooed home. 

She almost had a heart attack at the sight in front of her. There, on her couch, was Draco Malfoy and Harry "What the hell" Potter quietly and civilly talking to each other. She was jolted from her surprise by the sound of pots and pans banging in the kitchen.

"What in the hell is going on here?" Ginny said with a hint of disbelief in her voice. 

"Ginny Weasley, you may be the Minister of Magic, but I am your mother. I do not want to hear language like that coming out of your mouth!" Molly Weasley scolded Ginny as she walked into the living room from the kitchen.

"Mother, what are you doing here? What are all of you doing here? No offense, but I had plans this evening." Ginny said while thinking to herself that it was the truth. She just did not have plans with anyone else. 

"Dear, you should have told me that you had plans. Who is the lucky guy?" Molly innocently asked.

Ginny rolled her eyes, figures that her mother would test the issue. 

"I never said that I had a date. I said I had plans. There is a difference." 

Draco and Harry, in their male ignorance, began to laugh.

"What are you laughing at? You are sitting on my sofa tonight. No dates either, huh?" Ginny smirked at the pair of reddening men. 

"Ginny, I know I taught you better manners than that!" Molly Weasley chastised her only daughter. 

Ginny shook her head. There was no winning sometimes. 

"Look, I simply wanted to come home, have a hot bath and relax. Is that too much to ask?"

"Nope, I'll join you!" Draco said standing up and moving towards Ginny. 

Molly Weasley walked up to Draco, smacked him on the back of the head and told him to sit down and be quiet. 

Ginny put her hand up to her face and laughed. It was nice to see that her mother never changed. 

"So, what are all you doing here?"

"We thought we would come over and keep you company." Harry told her with a bright smile.

"Let me guess, Mom, you thought this would be a good idea."

Before Molly could reply, Draco cut in, "Actually, the idea came from Potter and me. However, we needed your mom to play along so that we could get in…" 

"Why would you do that?"

"To woo you, of course." Harry answered.

"Woo me?" Ginny asked in confusion.

"Geez Potter, what century are you from? We came here, Ginny, to be your friend and maybe more…" Draco said with a leer in his eyes. 

Ginny shook her head in exasperation. 

Molly walked up to her and said, "Help me in the kitchen?"

Ginny nodded her agreement and followed her mother into the kitchen. 

"Ginny, I would not have done this if I did not think it wise."

Ginny sighed, "I know, Mom. However, did you really think it wise to bring them BOTH!" 

"It was what they wanted, Ginny." Molly shrugged, "I did not think it would cause any harm. I also want to say that I think they both are in love with you. And no, they have not told me, per se, but I still feel that way."

"Funny, that is what Lori told me today too."

"I knew I liked that Lori. She has a good head on her shoulders despite her awful fashion sense." Molly said very seriously. 

Ginny laughed. It was true. Lori did have a wacky dressing sense, but was incredibly level headed and a great secretary. 

"So, help me cook up some dinner for your guests?"

"Sure, Mom." 

They sat to work much like they used to do at the Burrow. In no time at all, they were carrying out their scrumptious dinner to two, very hungry men. 

Draco and Harry dived into the pork chops and potato casserole as if they had not eaten in days! Molly and Ginny shook their heads and muffled their shared laughter at the two boys turned men. They truly had no idea how much they were alike. 

Conversation during dinner was mild and friendly. They discussed England's chances at the Quidditch World Cup. They discussed the dynamics of each of their jobs. Harry was a comic strip writer in the muggle world. He was syndicated in just about every newspaper in the civilized world. 

Draco had left England to get away from the bad vibes of being a Malfoy and had begun a large cattle ranch in Argentina. He told them some hilarious stories about him learning to be a "cowboy." How the first time he rode a horse, he fell off and broke his tailbone. That he had to sit on a specially shaped pillow for six weeks because of the break. And that his senior ranch hand thought it funny to put a hole in the pillow so that when he sat on it for dinner one night, it sounded like he farted for a full three minutes. 

The conversation continued easily flowing and Ginny could not remember the last time she had laughed so hard. It was a really nice evening. 

Before long, Molly was ushering the men out and telling Ginny to get a good night's sleep. Ginny sent them off with a wave and a smile, closing the floo behind them.

She found herself in the bathtub a few minutes later, her mind thinking about the evening and the two men. She found herself trying to pick between the two…and she was stumped. 

However, there was one major flaw with Harry; he had his chance years ago and he had made it very clear that he did not want her…ever. Draco had never been given a chance. But she loved Harry "Perfect" Potter, right? And he wanted her now…but Draco seemed sincere and there was not all the history that she had with Harry. Well there was, but not on the personal level. Draco had always been just a nemesis. Harry had been a part of her family's life for many years. 

By the time she was settling into her bed for the evening, she was more confused than ever. How could she ever decide? How could she make the right choice? She had so little experience with men anyway…and most of it was not good.

Just as she was drifting off to sleep, a bird rapped on her window. She walked sleepily over to the bird and removed the letter attached to the bird's leg. 

*******************

Ginny-

I would be honored if you would attend the Ministry Ball next week with me. 

Yours, 

Draco

*******************

Ginny sighed…what to do…what to do?


	8. MOM Chapter 7

A/N: This is how much I adore you guys…I am writing this from my hospital bed. Yes, Monday evening, my husband brought me to the hospital (no, not the psychiatric ward) and I have been here ever since. Put that on top of the fact that I live in NC…Hurricane Isabel…and this has been one heck of a week. So, with much anticipation (mostly my own), I present Chapter Seven.

The next morning, Ginny thought the situation did not look any better than it did the night before. Draco's letter asking her to the Ministry Ball had only confused her more. 

Ginny found herself up too early for any normal human being on a Saturday morning; showered, dressed, fed and staring into her blazing fire wondering how she had gone from no suitors to two suitors in a matter of days. 

She sighed again for what seemed to be the hundredth time that morning. She briefly closed her eyes, rubbed her forehead with her right hand, and began her thinking processes again - determined to solve this quagmire before Saturday morning breakfast at the Burrow. That and she needed to give Draco an answer in a timely manner. 

Harry-Harry-Harry- Though she had eventually dated other people at Hogwarts and afterwards, Harry had always held her heart. Well, until he had brutally told her that there was no chance of them ever being together. That and he most assuredly did not love her. 

But she did love him and he wanted her now. Could she live with knowing he wanted her, but did not love her? 

Harry 'damn he looks g-oo-oo-oo-d' Potter- His beautiful, green eyes that revealed all his emotions. She would love to see those eyes full of latent passion for her. That untidy, black hair that somehow perfectly framed his angular, delectable face. His exercise toned body…those well defined washboard abs, those amazing, ever flexing biceps, that perfectly firm ass…Yum-um-my! 

Ginny giggled to herself. Who knew that you could make the word yummy have more than two syllables? Of course, Harry was worth every single syllable because he was definitely scrumptious. He was fairly tall, probably about 6'1". Ginny, at her immense 5'2", found that he was now almost a foot taller than her and she liked to look up at her men…okay, man. Oh all right…male teenaged friends from when she was still in school. The truth was…she had not been in a serious relationship since Colin and talk about the blind leading the blind.  

Ugh! Why now? Why did he have to come back now spouting his undying love? Had he stayed away for just another week, just one itty bitty week, she could have easily fallen into Draco's arms and never looked back. Instead, she was sitting here ready to pull her hair out.

Draco-Draco-Draco- A gorgeous blonde who was as sexy as the Greek God, Adonis. A body that some of the Greek Statues would want to have. He was slightly taller than Harry, which meant he was over a foot taller than her. When she looked up at him, her head had to tip back. She liked that. It made her feel secure with him around, even more secure than Harry "I saved the world" Potter. That counted for something, right? 

He, too, had an amazing body. First, there was just the fact that he was strikingly, aristocratic looking. Even after several glances it was hard to tell if it was either the features of his face or his demeanor that gave him the aristocratic look. Come to think of it, it was probably both.

His eyes were the most amazing silver-grey color. To be honest, they were a color all their own. Maybe his eye color should get its very own color name, "Draco's eye color that makes women of any age swoon and grown men cower." Ginny snorted at her own joke.

After dinner the other night, she also had to admit that Draco Malfoy was a changed man. Well, maybe not a changed man, maybe he just grew up. Either way, he was a temptation to any woman's senses and most definitely to hers, but was it enough? Could she love him? Could he make her forget Harry "but I want you now" Potter?

"Ginny, you are already fifteen minutes late for breakfast! Get up off that couch and get your cute little butt to the Burrow, now! Or else, I will go get mom and let her come get you!"

Ginny startled out of her musings to see George's head bouncing in the now green flames of her fireplace. 

"Bite me, George!" 

"Tut-tut…don't make me call the Dailey Prophet and report that the 'MOM' has a potty mouth!"

"Ha ha! Don't make me call Hermione and tell her that you forgot Valentine's Day and the flowers she received were MINE!"

"Shhh," George said with his right index finger to his mouth, "that woman has hearing better than a dog! You win! Just get here, okay? We all want to see you!"

Ginny gave him a cocky 'I won' smile and said, "I'll be there in a few minutes. I need to put on my shoes and freshen up, okay?"

"Yep, see you in a few, little sis." George said before his head disappeared from the fireplace. 

Several minutes later, Ginny, without having made a decision, found herself landing elegantly in the Burrow's fireplace and dusting herself off. 

She was almost immediately swept into a giant bear hug by her eldest brother, Bill followed quickly by Charlie and James. Ginny gave herself up to their hugs. 

As soon as she was released from their hugs, Cara, Rose and Hermione were pulling her in the kitchen to discuss the latest gossip from around the wizarding world. Her mother was standing in front of the old, brick fire oven tending to a freshly removed pan of bread. The aroma was heavenly and Ginny inhaled deeply.  

"Ginny, did you hear? Apparently, your father overheard yesterday at the office that Seamus Finnegan, who went to school with you at Hogwarts, is to be named as the new flying instructor there!" Ginny's mother asked. 

Ginny knew. She had signed the okay slip for Albus. She gave her mother a stern look, well as stern a look as one can give their mother, and said, "You know I cannot discuss gossip from the office." 

Her mother, as she flipped the pan over and let the bread pop out onto a cooling rack, rolled her eyes. 

"Really Ginny, I was not asking; I was telling!" 

Ginny laughed and said, "I know. I was just yanking your chain."

"Hermione, smack that daughter of mine on the back of her head."

Hermione nodded, reached over and gave her a light smack on the back of her head.

"Hey, do that again and I will tell George about your little secret."

"What secret?" Hermione asked in a perplexed tone. 

"You know, Valentine's Day. You forgetting about it…and me saving your sweet arse!" 

"Shush! That man of mine still uses those stupid extended ear thingies!" 

Ginny shook her head. It was nice being in a big family. You knew all kinds of dirt on everyone and it kept you out of trouble. 

"Let's eat!" Molly Weasley's voice, magically enhanced, boomed throughout the house and surrounding land. 

Soon, the kitchen was bustling with hungry Weasleys. Ginny stepped back and planned on going last. She was surprised when she felt a light pressure on her lower back. Before she could turn around, a head, from behind, was leaning into her ear and said, "Hi Ginny!" 

She knew that voice. It was Harry "damn that voice is sexy" Potter. She briefly turned her head, returned his greeting with a smile and delicately moved away from his touch. She didn't get very far before another voice was greeting her in the same manner only on the other side of her head. This voice, while not creating shivers down her spine, did fan some interesting flames within her body. 

She turned around and gave a brief greeting to Draco followed by a friendly smile. Draco winked and walked past her grabbing Harry and turning them both towards the food. 

Interesting, Ginny thought, did Draco understand that she wanted to be left alone, or was he simply insuring that Harry did not corner her all to himself?

Soon, everyone had gotten their food and found a place to sit. Some were digging into the food with a hearty gusto, while others used the meal to talk to other family members. Ginny, who found herself stuck between Bill and Charlie, did not do either. Rather, she watched those around her and kept quiet. In particular, she was watching Harry "can I lick that dribble of scrumptious jelly off his chin?" Potter and Draco, the Greek god. 

What was so interesting about the school nemesis's interactions was that they no longer were showing open hostility. In fact, they almost seemed to be friends until one of them looked at Ginny. Then, the other would scowl and pull their attention from Ginny. 

Ginny sighed. Here she was, attracting two of the most eligible bachelors in the wizarding world, and she could not decide which one. 

Ugh, Ginny thought, as she brought another bite of omelet to her mouth. 

The morning passed quickly at the Burrow. It was filled with jokes, laughter, a few tears and love. Ginny had missed this lately and was glad that she had been able to attend. Just as she was about to head back to her apartment for a nice quiet evening at home, the flames in the fireplace turned green. Within the green flames, was one of Ginny's bodyguards' head and he did not look happy. 

"Minister," he began, "we have a situation. Please return, via floo, to your apartment immediately." 

He disappeared from the flames. Ginny grabbed a handful of floo powder and yelled, "Minister's flat." 

Draco and Harry followed directly behind her. 


	9. MOM Chapter 8

A/N: Whoa! I have not updated in way too long! So very sorry…you guys should have said something! Don't let me do that again, please! :) A big thanks to my Beta…who got it back to me in an astounding 30 minutes! You go girl! Well, here is the next chapter…try not to hex me too hard, or I won't be able to finish the story! LOL! 

Ginny, when she arrived via the floo system in her living room, found both of her body guards standing stiffly by her sofa. 

"Minister," the older one began, "we have been alerted from headquarters that a wizard somehow burst through security and has been throwing hexes in every direction. He has hit, thus far, seven Ministry workers with severe curses. All those hit have been taken to St. Mungo's Hospital and we are currently awaiting word on their conditions. All attempts to thwart the man by the Aurors have failed. Seven minutes ago, he took four young, secretarial witches hostage and is only willing to talk to you. We need you to come to Headquarters immediately." 

"Of co-…" Ginny began, but was hastily caught up by another voice. 

"Ginny, you cannot go. It is too dangerous." Draco earnestly voiced his opinion in a quiet but firm voice. 

"Draco is right, Ginny. It is too dangerous. Let the aurors handle this." Harry agreed. 

"No, I have to go."

"Then we are coming with you." Harry said and Draco confirmed with a nod of his head. 

"Fine, but stay out of the way...okay?" Ginny insisted. 

Ginny walked over to the older auror and said, "Let's go."

The oldest auror flooed through her fireplace to the Ministry's main entrance. Ginny followed with the younger auror on her heels. Draco and Harry were the last ones to go through. 

Ginny was dumbfounded at what she saw before her. There were witches and wizards prostrate on the ground. Ginny gasped in shock when she saw the wizard causing all the chaos. It was none other than Colin Creevey. 

"Colin," Ginny gasped out, "what in the world do you think you are doing?"

"Ginny, there you are! I have been looking everywhere for you!" Colin replied in an oxymoronic calm voice. 

"I am right here, Colin. Why are you doing this?" Ginny asked, as Harry and Draco flanked her on either side. 

"Doing what, Ginny? I simply came looking for you and no one here would tell me where you were. I simply made them understand that I wanted to see you; that is all." he said with obvious incomprehension in his voice. 

"Colin, you do realize that you have just ki-"

Harry cut her off and whispered, "No Ginny! He is out of his mind!" 

"I agree." Draco concurred in continued hushed tones. 

"Then what do I do?" Ginny whispered with exasperation in her voice.

"Play it cool. Play it cool." Draco advised. 

"Colin, dear, would you like to have a chat in my office?" 

"That would be great, Ginny. I have wanted to discuss something with you for quite a while now. Oh! Harry, I did not see you there."

"Hello Colin, mate, how have you been?" Harry politely asked.

"Well, things could be better and things could be worse. You know how it can be."

"Sure do." Harry replied. 

"Hello Colin," Draco offered. 

"Draco Malfoy, will wonders never cease? I had heard you were back in town, but had figured it was just a rumor. You know how witches are with their gossip." Colin said matter of fact. 

Draco gave a slight nod, whether he was agreeing or not was not clear. 

"Come Colin; let's go to my office and talk." Ginny interjected before the conversation got any weirder. 

"Good idea, Ginny. Harry, Draco, would you like to join us? I am sure Ginny would love to catch up with you as well." 

Harry and Draco nodded and followed behind Ginny and Colin to her office. Behind them were about 15 Aurors, Ginny's father (who had heard what was going on the nightly Wizard's News) and her brothers, all six of them. 

Ginny led the group to her office. Once there, she motioned for Colin, Draco and Harry to come in. When the Aurors moved to follow, she put up her hand and shook her head.

"Minister, we must come in…" the younger Auror from Ginny's flat said. 

"No," she said with fierce determination. Ginny then turned, walked into her office and firmly closed the door. 

Ginny walked around her desk and sat in her normal chair. Colin sat directly across from her. Harry stood to the side next to the gigantic fireplace. Draco, on the other hand, sat juxtaposed to Colin. 

"Well Colin, you have my undivided attention. What did you want to talk about?" Ginny asked. Her hands in front of her and folded. 

"Oh that! Yes, it is important, but first I want to talk to Harry and Draco." with that said, he turned to Harry and began asking asinine questions. 

"So Harry, did you enjoy being away? Did you find a wife? Do you have any children? Why did you come back? Did Ginny give you a piece of her mind when you did? How are you still friends?" Colin rambled on, not allowing Harry any time to answer. 

With his diatribe at an end to Harry, Colin turned to Draco and began another long chorus of questions, "Where have you been, Draco? Is it true that you served the Dark Lord? Was he really as ugly as people say? Did you leave to find yourself? Did you find yourself? Are you a new man? What are you doing with Ginny? Wait; what are you doing with Harry? I thought you hated each other? I thought you hated Ginny? What are you doing here, you bastard? You came to steal Ginny away from me, didn't you? Go ahead, admit it. We all know what you are, you sneaky, evil son of a bitch!" Colin yelled to Draco as he jumped to his feet. 

Draco went to draw his wand on Colin, but was stymied by the brief and almost imperceptible nod Ginny gave him. 

"Colin, sweetie, you need to sit down. Draco is not here to do anything, but keep us _all _company. Sit down, please, Colin." 

Colin, with much regret, tore his gaze from Draco and looked at Ginny. She was smiling at him. He gave her a fleeting smile in return and sat down. 

"Now Colin, what did you want to tell me? I would really like to hear what you have to say." 

Colin nodded and began, "Ginny, you were one of my best friends at Hogwarts. I know people thought I was oblivious, but I _did_ know what they said about me. 'Poor Colin, always following other people around, taking pictures…that I was trying to live vicariously through those pictures.' I knew, Ginny; I knew. I was not stupid. I was not blind. I was simply trying to fit in, instead of being the mudblood I was…am. You think I don't know that I don't fit into the Muggle World anymore? You think I don't know that I don't fit into the Wizarding World? I do. I don't fit anywhere…well, anywhere except where you are. You never made me feel that way, never. You always made me feel important. You made me feel that I just might belong. You made me feel that I belonged, that I was important, that I mattered. I love you, Ginny, with all that I am. Please say that you love me too. I know you do, if you would just look deep inside. I am right, aren't I? You love me as much as I love you. I knew it! I knew it! Ginny, marry me? Marry me today and let us begin our life together!" 

Colin finished practically yelling the last three or four sentences. He hastily stood up, almost knocking the chair he had been sitting in over, and reached out a hand to Ginny. His eyes were alight with joy. 

"Colin, you love me?" Ginny asked in a strangled voice. 

"Of course I do, and you love me. Now take my hand and let's go down the hall to the wizard's ritual bonding department. Well, come on!" he said, obviously starting to become exasperated. 

"But Colin, what about all those people you hurt and killed downstairs?" Ginny asked in a timid voice. 

"What people, Ginny? You know I would never hurt anyone intentionally. I am Gryffindor, after all." 

"Colin, you don't remember walking into the Ministry's Building and casting curse after curse?" this being asked by Harry who was still standing by the large fireplace. 

"Harry, I have _no idea _what you are talking about. I am beginning to think that you are here to cause trouble for Ginny and me. So I ask, in all due respect, to recall that you gave up your chance to have Ginny. She wanted you; you did not want her. I was the one that held Ginny as she cried for days. So please, just bugger off!" 

"Colin," Ginny said to get his attention back on her, "Are you really sure you want to marry me? I am no prize, by any means." 

"Of course you are, Ginny. You are beautiful, sweet, smart…everything a man could want…well, except for ole' green eyes over there." Colin said with a smirk and a casual head toss in Harry's direction. 

"Colin, what made you decide to come today and ask for Ginny's hand?" Draco asked, finally joining into the conversation after the earlier incident. 

"Not that it is any of your business…but I thought the time was right. And it is right. Isn't it, Ginny?" Colin asked in a voice that seemed to have just a touch of desperation in it. 

"Colin, you hurt and killed people this morning, how would that make Ginny want to be with you? Harry asked. 

"I thought I told you to bugger off, Potter." Colin asked. His wand now pointed at Harry. 

Harry put his hands up and shook his head in a surrendering manner. 

"Ginny, let's go! NOW!" Colin said. This time he had moved his wand so that it now was pointed at Ginny. 

Ginny, with obvious fright in her eyes, nodded and walked to Colin. 

Harry and Draco grabbed their wands and pointed them at Colin, but they were too late. Ginny was already in Colin's grasp and his wand was pointed at her neck. 

"Now boys, put those away. There is no need to be nasty." Colin cackled out. He placed an overly loving kiss on Ginny's neck and then licked it. 

"Harry, you don't know what you are missing. She tasted so yummy, like strawberries on a summer day. Ummm!" 

"You are a sick bastard, Creevey!" Draco said in disgust. 

"Maybe, I am; maybe, I 'm not. Either way, I have what you both want and I am going to make her mine. Come Ginny, let's go get hitched, my love." with that said, he pushed Ginny forward and out the door. Outside the door stood the Aurors and Ginny's family; they jumped back in surprise. Arthur took a step towards Ginny and Colin, but was halted in his tracks when he noticed the wand pressed to Ginny's neck. 

Arthur motioned for them to back off. They all did reluctantly. Colin nodded at them all jovially and invited them to his and Ginny's wedding. He ignored the gasps and tears that erupted from Ginny's family. 

He pushed Ginny further down the hall and into the elevator. He selected the number for the appropriate level and held the door as he waited for Ginny's family to join them. 

Ginny, who was watching everything as if in slow motion, kept trying to find a way out of the situation. Unfortunately, she had committed the ultimate Wizard sin this morning; she had left her wand at the Burrow. 

The elevators opened and Colin motioned for the family to get out. Colin followed with Ginny. He pushed them to the front and then through the door of the Wizard Ritual Bonding Office. Arthur, behind Ginny and Colin, held the door open for the family.

The witch behind the counter asked if she could be of help. Colin said that they were in a hurry to get married. 

The witch smiled in a knowing way and gave a long calculating look at Ginny, the MOM. She fumbled around in a few drawers, retrieved four pieces of paper and handed them to Ginny. Ginny took them. 

"Fill them out, love." Colin prompted her. 

Ginny, with much reluctance, filled out the paper work and handed it back to the witch. The witch placed her wand on the papers and said the necessary charms. 

"There you are," the witch said in an annoyingly sweet tone, "You are legally wed. Congratulations!"


	10. MOM Chapter 9

For several moments, everyone stood in disbelieving silence, and then all hell broke loose. Colin pulled Ginny out of the room with a smirky grin and waved to her family members. 

He was about to pull her further down the hall, when Ginny and Colin were flanked by Aurors. The Aurors, on orders from Arthur Weasley, had been told not to take Colin until they could completely surround him. That had not been possible until Colin had made the error of leaving the room with only Ginny. 

Ginny, as the Aurors surrounded them, let loose a sigh of relief. She knew that since she had been forced to marry him under duress that the marriage was not legal; she just needed to get away from him. She, up until now, had played the game as Harry and Draco had suggested earlier in the day, but enough was enough. She no longer wanted anyone else to "handle" everything; just look where that had gotten her. The Aurors were here; they were surrounded. So, she made her move. 

Ginny jerked her arm out of Colin's grip. She could feel his nails digging into her skin as his hand tried to maintain a grip on her arm. She jerked harder and felt him lose his grip on her. She stepped away and lost her balance. She heard a lot of commotion around her, but all that her brain could comprehend was that she was falling. She felt herself harshly touch down on the floor before her world went silent and black. 

************************************************************

Ginny woke to the sound of two, loud, male voices. She had no idea where she was, what was being said, etc. She could not distinguish what they were saying, but she knew whom they belonged to…Draco and Harry. 

She turned towards the voices, but found that to be a huge mistake. A searing pain shot through her head and greatly protested that idea. She gingerly righted her head to the previous position and focused on the voices. 

She sat there for a few more seconds and finally began understanding snippets of the conversation. 

"This is preposterous!" one male voice said. 

"It is not preposterous; it is the truth! And, you KNOW it. I am right and you hate that. Don't you?"

The conversation was making Ginny feel like she was on a merry-go-round. What was preposterous? Who was right? Who hated what? What was the truth? The thought processes running in her mind were actually making her nauseous. She tried to open her eyes, but when she did, the light caused the throbbing in the back of her head to commence again. Then the voices started again.

"I know."

"What was that? The great," this next part was garbled to Ginny, "Can't believe that _I could possibly_ be right? Will wonders never cease? Should I check and see if the sky is falling?"

"What a wit, you are! Hey that rhymes with git! Now _that_ makes more sense!"

"And you call me a git…"

"Git is as Git does."

"You sound like a former Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor!"

"Yes, I am ashamed to say I do; just like that ruddy Lockhart fellow from our second year, right?"

"That's the one."

"So- umm- since you think I am right…umm- I should probably –umm-go."

"Yeah- uhhh- probably…"

"Take care of her."

"That goes without saying."

Ginny heard a door open and close.

Ginny lay there very still and pondered the conversation in her head. Unless she was completely crazy, Draco and Harry had decided which one deserved her. The thoughts were still running through her mind as she drifted back into a healing sleep. 

When Ginny woke the next time, she was fully awake with no lingering nausea or headache. Molly was sitting on her left side and idly stroking her hand. Her father and several of her brothers were at the foot of the bed. Harry was sitting to her right and was the first to notice that she was awake. 

"Ginny! She's awake! Look, her eyes are open! How do you feel? Are you all right? Do you remember what happened?"

"Let's give her a few minutes, Harry, and not bombard her with questions and concerns, okay? In the meantime, Charlie, go tell Ginny's on duty nurse that she is awake," Arthur Weasley advised Harry and Charlie. Harry nodded in agreement and Charlie left the room to inform the nurse.

Ginny looked around the room and could see the relief on everyone's faces, which left her slightly confused. All she had done was hit her head on the floor. 

"ughrghghrgh," was all that Ginny could get out.

Her mother handed her a glass of water and quietly told her to drink it. She nodded and took a small sip. It seemed to do the trick because she could now speak.

"What are you guys looking so gloom for? I only fell and hit my head!" she quietly said with a touch of humor. 

Harry shook his head in a negative manner and said, "No, Ginny, that is not what happened. Do you not remember anything after falling?"

"I remember pulling out of Colin's grasp and falling. I blacked out because I hit the floor. That was all that happened, at least as I remember it."

At that point, the nurse that Charlie had gone to notify was back with Charlie in tow. 

"Glad to see you awake, Minister. You certainly have caused quite a ruckus all throughout the Isles. We've never had a Minister be almost assassinated. You are one lucky lady, my dear! How do you feel? You look much better; your cheeks have a nice, healthy rose color to them."

"Ummm- assan- assassinated? What are you talking about? I just fell and hit my head." Ginny asked quietly. The nausea was quickly returning. 

Molly broke down into tears. Ron was looking very morose. Arthur was watching his daughter's reactions very closely, but looked very concerned, as well.

"Oh dear, I thought you knew. I am so sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. I'll let you talk to the Minister. I'll be back later. Glad to see you awake, Minister." The nurse walked hastily and silently out of the room. 

"What in the hell is going on?" Ginny demanded.

"You did fall, Ginny. You are right about that, but as you were falling Colin threw the Killing Curse at you. He would have succeeded too, if Draco had not thrown you out of the way. You hit your head on a wall from Draco throwing you, literally, across the room, not on the floor as you mentioned earlier. That is why Draco is not here. He is very upset. At first, he thought he had killed you. I have never seen Draco so upset…He found your pulse; then he turned to Colin and threw the Killing Curse at him. Colin died. So now, he is blaming himself for everything. He left several hours ago and planned on turning himself into Azkaban."

"Well, that is just silly!" Ginny said with a giggle, "And I'll tell him so when he visits."

"Umm- Ginny- he won't be visiting. He and I spoke and he felt that you would be better off with me. He asked me to take care of you and I promised that I would. Plus, there is the little issue of his throwing the Killing Curse and killing Colin."

Ginny's mouth was gaping open at these revelations.

"You must be out of your mind! He must be out of his mind! He saved me! He has no reason to be in Azkaban. Oh hell no, I am going to fix this right now!" she said as she hopped out of bed. 

"Ginny, you are not supposed to be moving around. He did what he wanted to do; now, I am going to do what I need to do. Ginny Weasley, you beautiful woman, I almost lost you today. Please say- ummm- Ginny, will you marry me?" 

"Oh dear Merlin, that was the conversation I heard earlier. You and he were resolving the issue of ME! You two decided who got to have me! Harry Potter, I would suggest you move out of my way; I have never felt the need to do bodily harm to anyone so much in my life as I do right now! M-O-V-E!"

Harry squeaked and moved slightly to the left. Ginny, in her hospital gown, threw open the door to her room and stormed out. She was muttering things about 'stupid, pigheaded men' and 'women obviously not able to make up their own minds; so they thank goodness they had MEN to do it for them' and a host of other disparaging remarks about males and their intellect. Nurses, Doctors and visitors throughout the hospital gaped, but she did not notice. She kept on her mission of finding Draco 'the king of stupid man' Malfoy. 

As soon as she was outside of the hospital and in a safe muggle-free area, she Apparated directly to Malfoy Manor. She, due to the wards at the Manor, was forced to knock and wait for a House Elf to answer the door.   

She brushed past the Elf and gruffly asked the Elf where Draco was.

The House Elf squeaked at her less than friendly tone and pointed up the stairs. As she started up the stairs, she realized she'd have to apologize to the Elf later, but, for now, she was on a mission. 

She reached the top of the stairs and began flinging open each and every door looking for Draco 'wanker' Malfoy.

On the sixth door, she found him. He, with his back to her, was packing. She walked in and slammed the door as hard as she could. He turned around and his eyes widened in disbelief when they rested on her. Ginny, having spent way too much time with the aforementioned 'wanker' recently, just crossed her arms over her chest, tapped her toe and smirked. 


	11. MOM Chapter 10

"Going somewhere?" Ginny asked with a touch of venom in her voice. 

"As a matter of fact, I am. I think the bigger question is what the hell are you doing here and why are you wearing that umm- tantalizing- gown?" he asked. 

"I am here to talk to the 'King of Wankers. That would be _you_, by the way. The reason for my lovely apparel is because, I had to chase down the 'King of Wankers' before he did something very stupid."

"And what would that be?" Draco asked.

"Pissing me off," Ginny calmly responded. 

"Really and what would this 'Wanker' be doing to piss you off?"

"Letting Harry 'I don't love him; I love you, you Git" Potter think that because you said so, I was his, free and clear. What about MY feelings, hmmm? What about how I feel? I thought you came here to woo me and win me because I am so beautiful? I thought you were in love with me? And last but not least, I thought I would, when the time came, at least get a say about whom I married! But no, instead I have a little accident and the guy I am in love with me saves me, but do I get the 'Happily ever after?' Of course not, that would be too easy. No, I get to wake up to the story that he saved me, handed me over to his arch nemesis and walk away without a "Kiss my arse." 

"Ginny, it -," Draco began, but was quickly cut off. 

"I am not done, love. I suggest you close that mouth. I am so not done yet and I'll let you know when I am," Ginny said with sweet words, but in a "don't mess with me" tone. 

Draco wisely nodded and let Ginny continue. 

"Now I am the Minister of Magic. You saved my life. You will not be sent to Azkaban prison. That, Draco, was the solution to problem number one. Next you will be unpacking those clothes. Then you will be taking a seat on that chair. That will solve problem number two."

"Oh I will, will I?" Draco asked with his trademark smirk. However, Ginny noticed that he _was_ unpacking. Ginny simply quirked an eyebrow and watched his unpacking. Once he was done unpacking, it was with great pride that Ginny realized Draco had sat in the chair just as she had ordered. She shrugged to herself; maybe she did have a good grasp of the "authority figure" stereotype. 

"Well?" Draco asked from the chair. His left leg crossed casually over his right, looking far better than should be legally allowed. 

"Did I tell you that you could speak?" 

"No, but-," again Draco was cut off by Ginny's intense glare.

"Then keep quiet. Now for problem number three…" Ginny said. 

Ginny, gathering her courage from Merlin knew where, sauntered over to Draco and uncrossed his legs. Then she proceeded to crawl onto Draco's lap. Her knees wrapped around his body and lodged on either side of his hips. She ran her fingers through his hair and gave it a good mussing. His hair was now standing up in a million different directions and he had NEVER looked sexier. Ginny smiled to herself at her accomplishment.

"I've wanted to do that for quite a while," Ginny assured the shocked Draco. She then pulled his head close to hers and gave him a sound kissing, tongues met briefly and flicked against the other. Ginny teasingly retracted hers only to find it being soundly sucked back into dueling with the other. 

He tasted like pumpkin spices: cloves, cinnamon, etc. And it tasted good. Ginny moaned and pulled him closer. She also realized that Draco was now in charge of this "discussion" and she liked it that way. 

They continued that way for a few more seconds until they simultaneously pulled back for air. 

"So are you staying?" Ginny asked, taking deep breaths.

"Hell yeah," Draco said as he pulled her close again for another soul searing kiss.

********************************************************

"Hi Ginny," Harry said as he entered her room at the Burrow. 

"Hi Harry," Ginny retorted as she walked over to him and planted a kiss on his cheek. 

"Happy?" Harry asked even though he already knew the answer.

"Yes! You?" Ginny asked with a smirk.

"Yes, I am. I guess I owe you for re-introducing me to your friend."

"You owe me big, Harry "I told you Luna Lovegood was made for you!" Potter.

They both gave loud chuckles and hugged the other tightly. 

"Ready to go get married?" Harry asked.

"More than you could imagine," Ginny assured him.

"I just want you to be happy, Ginny. You know that, right?"

"I do, and I am. I love you, Harry, but like a brother. Now go get Luna and sit close to the front. I have a surprise for Draco during the wedding and I wouldn't want you to miss it."

"Really, what is it?"

"Ahhh-ahhh that would be telling, now go," she said in her 'I mean it' voice.

Harry just shook his head, gave her a brief kiss on the cheek and went to find Luna. 

***************************************

"And now Witches and Wizards, the soon-to-be Mrs. Malfoy has a gift for her husband."

Draco turned to Ginny with a silent question in his eyes. Ginny smirked and gave him a nonchalant shrug. 

Out of nowhere, a Leprechaun appeared, cleared his throat and then he began to sing, 

"He has hair of gold, white and bright that shimmers in the pale, moonlight.

His eyes are silver and hard to read, but can make me feel secure and oh so right! 

Today I make him mine. And I have always been his. I wonder what he thinks of this.

If he knows what is good for him, he'll kiss the bride and forget all about getting pissed." 

"That was goofy, you know?" Draco whispered in her ear as they walked down the aisle as husband and wife.

"Yes, I just wanted to nip any possibilities of a future fight in the bud."

"Huh?" 

"Now you can't ever say that I have embarrassed myself more for your arch nemesis than you…"

Draco threw back his head and laughed, "I love you, Ginny Malfoy."


End file.
